In My Studio
How I Make My Prints
I use painterly printmaking techniques to make my work. I love this way of working because it’s so direct and offers chances for unexpected, exciting mark making. I make watercolour monotypes, drypoint etchings, woodcuts and screenprints.
When I get started with a monotype I don’t know what I’m going to end up with because it will evolve and ‘mistakes’ play a big part. I draw and work quickly, often making several versions of the same thing.
‘A Pizza Fell On Her Foot ‘ Monotype 2015
A Monotype
This is an image that has been painted directly onto a smooth unaltered surface and then transferred directly onto paper usually via an etching press to create a completely unique work. It’s a type of printmaking that is closest to painting.
Drypoint Etching
This is a type of printmaking called Intaglio, which uses various methods of 'cutting' an image into the surface of a metal plate. Once the plate is inked, the incised lines hold the ink whilst the rest of the plate is wiped clean. The plate, in contact with damp paper, is passed through a press under pressure. The paper is forced into the sunken areas to receive the ink. The inked lines on the finished surface are often slightly raised and there is generally a visible line around the image where the plate has been pressed into the paper, called the platemark. The presence of a platemark is a good way of telling an intaglio print from a relief.
‘Dead Stuff‘ Drypoint Etching 2018
Birdcatching’ Woodcut 2019
A Wood Cut
Is a relief print: the areas around the image to be printed are cut away, leaving the image on the block in relief. The raised areas are inked and the image transferred onto paper.
Screenprinting
Screenprinting is the process of pressing ink through a stencilled mesh screen with a squeegee to create a printed image.
‘Doing Nothing’ Screenprint 2013
